Nigerian conference hears Make Roads Safe messageThe Nigerian Government has been urged to play a leading role in road safety at a high level conference in the capital, Abuja. 
Saul Billingsley with Robert Okello of the UN Economic Commission for Africa
  Speaking at the Federal Road Safety Commission’s conference on 18th February, FIA Foundation Deputy Director Saul Billingsley urged Nigerian leaders to support the Make Roads Safe campaign’s proposal for a UN Ministerial Conference. He also called on Nigeria and other countries present at the conference, including Ghana and Benin, to take a leading role in promoting road safety within Africa. “This issue is as deserving of serious commitment and coordination at the highest levels as climate change, Malaria or HIV / AIDS. I would urge you all to encourage your governments, here in Nigeria and across the continent, to support road safety at the UN and to ensure that if and when the Ministerial Conference takes place your countries send high powered delegations committed to securing real action on road safety”, he said. The Make Roads Safe campaign was much in evidence at the conference, which attracted more the 1500 delegates, with Nigerian road safety NGO Patvora promoting the campaign petition. Senior politicians speaking at the conference included Nigeria’s Vice President, Goodluck Jonathan, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Oladimeji Bankole, who warned that “we must be prepared to say no to the destruction of lives and property’ caused by road crashes. The head of the Federal Road Safety Commission, Corps Marshal Osita Chidoka, described road injuries as “a phenomenon that will waste Africa’s most vital resource – its people”. Robert Okello, Director of NEPAD and Regional Integration at the UN Economic Commission for Africa, gave a closing address on behalf of the UN. The International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) has recently conducted a mini inspection of 100km of the road network between Lagos and Ibadan, at the invitation of the Nigerian government. |
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Read this short booklet on Make Roads Safe which explains the aims of the campaign and why you should get involved. Read the Report
Read the Make Roads Safe report demanding urgent G8 action to tackle global road deaths. Watch the Film
Watch this short Make Roads Safe film to see the impact of road deaths in developing View film (Windows Media Player): Low-Res | Medium-Res | High-Res View film (QuickTime): |
